1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to allocation of software support resources and, more particularly, to estimating future support requirements using prediction models based on historical reports of problem type and problem quantity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Predicting the expected number and types of customer reported problems after a software product has been released is a crucial requirement for software maintenance planning and for planning development of future releases of a software product.
Prior art methods and processes, however, for predicting support requirements for a software service or product do not predict particular categories of problems. Instead, such methods and processes predict only a volume of reported problems over a given time horizon. The resources, though, in terms of, for example, the number of service personnel and the qualifications of the service personnel, to solve customer problems does not depend solely on the problem volume. Therefore, allocating resources based on current estimation methods often results in mismatch of resources with problems that need to be addressed, resulting in inadequate resources to provide for customer needs.